In a 1983 Gallup poll Americans were asked: “who do you think Jesus is.” Seventy percent of those interviewed said Jesus was not just another man. Forty-two percent stated Jesus was God among men. Twenty-seven percent felt Jesus was only human but divinely called. Nine percent state that Jesus was divine because he embodied the best of humanity. Also, 81% of Americans consider themselves to be Christians.¹ That’s what the poll said. The question now is: “Who do you say Jesus is to you?”

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Matthew 16:13 (ESV) — 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

Going to Heaven; What Doesn’t Matter?

• Who is Jesus is the question of the ages.
• As far as going to heaven is concerned, there are many things which have no bearing.
• You may believe in the Rapture or not.
• It has no bearing on your whether or not you go to heaven.
• It does not matter what tribe you may come from.
• Your ethnicity does not factor into your standing with God.
• There are only three races God recognizes anyway: Jew, Gentile and the church of God.

1 Corinthians 10:32 (ESV) — 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God,

• It does not matter what your church affiliation is.
• Or if you are a minster and you hold credentials with a specific church group or denomination.
• You can be any flavor of church or denomination you would like to be.
• Your social status has no bearing.
• Whether you are an outlaw, an outcast or a flat-out heretic to your church circle is of no consequence to God the Father.
• Many years ago some people considered wearing a certain colored tie to church a sin.
• You can rest assured your name in the Lamb’s Book of life has no such requirement.
• What about political views?
• The heaven you are going to has no political affiliation.
• It’s not a Republican heaven, or Democratic heaven or whatever flavor the ruling party is in your country.
• Your political views have no bearing on your standing with heaven.
• The only thing that matters is your answer to this question, Who is Jesus to you?
• The only question that remains is what have you done with Jesus the Christ?

Who Then Is Jesus?

• Jesus is God’s only Son.
• In His person, He is equal with God.
• In His past, He has always existed with God the Father.
• Jesus is not a created being like man was.
• He has always been God and exists with God.
• You can look at the Godhead as three beings with the same last name, ‘God’.
• In the Old Testament, Moses asked for God’s name.

Exodus 3:13–14 (ESV) — 13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

• Simply put, God’s name is not God.
• God is who He is.
• It is the same with us.
• I am a man, a human being but my name is not ‘man’.
• My name is Emery.
• The Godhead resembles an earthly family or rather our earthly family resembles the Trinity.
• The Godhead consists of Father and Son though this is a very incomplete way of looking at this as the analogy loses its force when you come to the Holy Spirit.
• The three members of the Godhead include God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
• Jesus possessed all the attributes of deity.
  • He was omnipresent or everywhere at the same time.
  • He was omniscient or all-knowing.
  • He was omnipotent or all-powerful.
• Jesus laid aside these ‘omni’ attributes so that He could become a man and be born via the virgin birth.
• So, Jesus is the Son of God but in the gospels, He is also known as the Son of Man.
• Why?
• He became a flesh and blood human being so that He could successfully identify with you.
• Literally, He became what you are so that you might become what He is.
• Becoming a man allowed Him to represent both you and me as a man at Calvary.
• It was a man who sinned originally and it so it was a man who had to pay the penalty.
• Jesus was a man.
• He walked as a man.
• He was tempted as a man.
• He endured what men endure.
• Yet, He was a faithful and a complete sacrifice.
• Jesus balanced the books and established redemption as a legal fact in the universe.
• When Jesus led captivity captive ascending back to His Father, He still experienced the confinement of a body: a glorified body but a body nevertheless.
• So, in one sense, He is still paying a price for what took place in the Garden.
• That’s what love is.
• That’s what love does.
• This is who Jesus is.

Question: The question remains: “Who is Jesus to you?” Please share your answer in the comments section below.

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